Parents' group condemns 'Bully' rating

LOS ANGELES, April 6 (UPI) -- The Parents Television Council says the message behind "Bully" is "noble," but the U.S. documentary should still be rated R for its language, not PG-13.

The Motion Picture Association of America initially rated "Bully" R because of the number of expletives it contains, but lowered the rating this week after the film's producers, The Weinstein Co., removed three of the film's six F-words.

The studio has argued the language in Lee Hirsch's film is important because it shows how abusive some kids are to others.

The Weinstein Co. called the MPAA rating reversal "a huge victory" and said it paves the way for schools and organizations to use the film as an educational tool.

The PTC disagreed with the decision.

"When it comes to the MPAA's content rating system, what was, at one point, a standard has devolved into a double-standard and now into no standard. Moving the yardstick from one 'F-bomb' to three essentially removes the yardstick altogether," PTC President Tim Winter said in a statement Friday.

"The unprecedented inclusion of numerous instances of the harshest profanity in a PG-13 film undermines the MPAA's sole responsibility -- to give accurate information to parents. For a film marketed to 13-year-old children, the use of that word more than zero times should result in an R rating and only an R rating," the statement said. "While the message of 'Bully' is noble, the producers' motivation for a PG-13 rating is based solely on profit, not on any putative desire to help children."